


Paper Mache Dragon

by avrelia



Series: The World of Infinite Hope - canon compliant stories [18]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Fire Nation Royal Family, Fire Nation Royal Family are fluffy kittens, Gen, Lots of characters are mentioned but don't say anything, Royal Fire Academy for Girls, Winter Solstice, education reform is moving slowly, parenting is work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-18 11:27:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21760156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avrelia/pseuds/avrelia
Summary: Zuko takes his 6 year old daughter to school. Then there is a school  Winter Solstice celebration.
Relationships: Izumi & Mai (Avatar), Izumi & Zuko (Avatar), Mai/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: The World of Infinite Hope - canon compliant stories [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1858519
Comments: 13
Kudos: 259





	Paper Mache Dragon

**Author's Note:**

> Royal Fire Academy for Girls was a brutal place. Especially according to the "Rise of Kyoshi" book (it's awesome! read it!). But Mai is determined to turn it into a welcoming place for her daughter.
> 
> Overall, it's sweet December Holiday cookie type of a story, with a bit of bitterness sneaked in.

“You are taking Izumi to school today.” Mai said as a matter of fact. It was a dark morning of late autumn, and they all woke up rather late.

“Why?” Zuko turned and looked at his wife. “Don’t we have a nanny and the whole supporting stuff that do this kind of thing?” Izumi started Royal Fire Academy for girls this year, and he fully trusted Mai to do what had to be done about it. Except for firebending, of course. He enjoyed teaching Izumi firebending himself.

“Yes, we do. But today they need a parent at school. Some kind of special activity.”

“Hmm.” Zuko frowned. “I don’t remember anything like that when Azula…” 

Mai folded her hands and looked at him... sarcastically, definitely sarcastically. “Our educational reform has brought new people to school, with new strange ideas. We are not, after all, planning to follow in our parents’ footsteps.”

Quite the contrary. Zuko thought about it, and, of course, he loved playing with Izumi and talking and reading, but going to school with her still seemed strange. “Why can’t you go? I have work to do, you know.”

“No, you don’t – I’ve cleared your schedule with your secretary. You didn’t have anything but routine and follow ups for today, and that all can be done without you. Now, I have a meeting with the city beautification committee, and lady Chenchen assured me that if I don’t appear, and they won’t be able to come to any decision regarding the Winter Solstice festival, they are going to explode. Literally. I don’t want to miss it.”

“You want to see ladies from the beautification committee explode?” He wouldn’t mind seeing it himself.

“You know me so well, my fire lord.” Mai purred as her eyes sparkled dangerously, and smile grew mischievous. She came closer and kissed him lightly, still smiling.

Zuko returned the kiss. “Ok, sure. I’ll go with Izumi. I’ll be fun.”

“Of course it’ll be.”

* * *

Izumi was excited to go to school with him. Well, excited was an understatement. She skipped, she hopped, she sang, she talked non-stop about her school, and classmates, and teachers. “I need to do it more often”, Zuko thought, delighted to be the source of so much joy. 

When they reached Izumi’s class at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, Izumi proudly introduced him “This is my dad Zuko, he is a fire lord.” The teacher, Mistress Taiti, pretended that it is a perfectly normal occurrence and handed him an apron.

“Thank you for coming, Lord Zuko. Today we are making paper mache animals for our Winter Solstice show. You and Izumi are working on this dragon. She’s made a carcass already, now you have to put pieces of paper into this glue paste and cover the dragon carcass with it.” 

Izumi pulled him towards her dragon and pointed proudly. “Look, daddy! I did it all by myself! She looks just like our Druk, but she is a girl!” 

The dragon didn’t look like Druk. It looked like a weird construction of metal and wooden pieces held together with strings. He also couldn’t see why it’s a girl, but didn’t plan to argue the topic. Zuko looked around – other girls, probably two dozens of them, were working diligently on their animals. Most of them were with mothers, some with fathers, one was with her grandfather Goshi, who used to be his Minister of Agriculture before retirement. All adults were wearing aprons covered in paper and glue. With a start, Zuko realized, that he knew most of the adults in the room, at least by name, if not personally. Nobody paid to him much attention, beyond occasional curious glances. That was encouraging. He shrugged and turn his attention to Izumi’s dragon. Izumi gave him a piece of paper and explained, “We need to dip it in the glue and cover her legs and belly first, then her tail and head, then wings, and finally, back. Understood?”

“Yes, my lady.” He chuckled and started dipping paper in glue. 

It was easy enough, but by the time they enveloped all of the frame with several layers of paper, they were also covered in glue themselves. Zuko suspected that the promised explosion of the committee’s ladies was not the only reason Mai didn’t want to come today. The thing in front of them meanwhile finally started to resemble a dragon. Zuko looked it over critically.

“Are we done with it?”

“It needs to dry all over, and then I will color it and add stuff to make her pretty.” 

“It needs some fire to be a proper dragon, too.”

“I’ll think of something.” Izumi said solemnly and frowned. 

Zuko considered the paper mache animal. It was a very pathetic dragon. He doubted color could improve it. But a bit of fire just might. He stack his finger out and made the dragon firebend. Izumi clapped and laughed.

“Lord Zuko! Firebending is only allowed on training grounds in school! School rules must be followed by everyone for the safety of students. Of course, if you wish to make a proper firebending demonstration, we’ll all be delighted.” Mistress Taiti sounded terrified, but determined. 

Zuko looked around at the faces frozen expectantly or alight with curiosity and anticipation and grinned “Of course”. 

~o~

Later that day, when Zuko told Mai about his day at school, she laughed. “So they made you undress and give your firebending demonstration and the Dancing Dragon thing for the whole school? Smart.”

“Well, I cannot do the proper demonstration all dressed up in court finery and covered in glue.”

“Of course.” They were sitting on the large old divan in his study and having tea. One of the best parts of quiet evenings when they had it – just the two of them, drinking tea and discussing the results of the day.

“They seemed to like it.”

“I don’t doubt it for a moment. Especially the teachers, I think.”

“Yes, they asked if I can come occasionally to instructions in firebending for them and the girls. I promised to think about it.” In fact he did notice appreciative looks that he was sure had nothing to do with his firebending technique, but as long as they also learn better firebending, he didn’t care.

Mai grew serious. “It’s actually a good idea. I think you should.”

“Really?”

“Of course, you’re the best firebending teacher I know. Girls need to learn what good firebending can be.”

“How would you know that?” He was thinking about uncle Iroh.

“You taught the Avatar firebending. Quite successfully. You taught Kiyi. And I saw you both with Kiyi and Izumi. You’re methodical, calm, patient and fair. You know what you’re doing and why and can explain it to your students.”

Zuko snorted “Calm and patient is not exactly what I am called usually.”

“You are not. But somehow, when you were teaching firebending to your sister and daughter you were both calm and patient.”

“Maybe I should have started a firebending school instead of all this.”

“You might even enjoyed it more. Maybe in another life?”

“It’s a thought. In another life we’ll start a school together with you.”

“How was the school, what do you think?” Mai asked looking slightly tense. 

“I think it was nice. The kids were sweet, the teacher seemed… right. She did forbid me to firebend in class, all while being scared to tell the fire lord off. But she was right, rules are there for the safety. I liked it.”

“Taiti used to be a student there, too. A couple of years younger than Azula. I am glad she is the one teaching Izumi now.” Mai looked lost in some unhappy thoughts. 

“I think the changes you started there are taking root. It’s going to be a good place for Izumi and other girls.”

“When we were the students there, old teachers often complained that we lived in too mild, dissolute time. In the proper old times there was better discipline, agni kai were common, and nobody would bat an eye if a teacher burned a student for any slight.” Mai looked at him.

Zuko pulled her closer. “And yet you survived it, and send our Izumi to study there.”

“It is still the best school. And it does help building lifelong friendships.” Now Mai was sitting in his lap, warm and smiling in the circle of his arms. 

He kissed her cheek. “How was your day? Any explosions?”

“Sadly, no. But they were close. I managed to corral them into making a decision about vendors and who gets to do what, and who gets contracts for lanterns and for flowers and for clean up. Good work for one day, I think. But boring.” She leaned to him and sighed.

Well, it’s not every day that you get to do boring work.” He kissed her some more. Mai kissed him back, and then the door opened wide and Izumi charged into the room.

“Mom! I have the awesomest dad ever! Did you know?” She screamed, climbing into his lap, too.

“Yes, I knew that.” she flashed her smile at him. “What did he do today?”

“Dad went to school with me, and we made my dragon, and then he made my dragon firebend, and them Mistress Taiti said he is not allowed firebend in class, and then he went and did the dancing dragon at the grounds, and if was super awesome, and everyone saw it!”

“Very impressive, for one day’s work!”

“Are you going to come for the Solstice show?” 

“Of course we are.”

“Good.” Izumi turned and twisted trying to settle to be able to hug them both.

“Are you comfortable?” Mai asked him.

“Very much so.”

* * *

Zuko felt very uncomfortable. It was the day of the Winter Solstice show at the school, and they were here in their most official capacity, guests of honor, sitting on dais: Mai at his side, his mom and Michi next to them. Tom-Tom scoffed and ran away at the suggestion to come, and so did Kiyi. Noren hid himself in the general audience. So did Ty Lee, but she did it as a part of their security detail. Uncle hasn’t arrived yet, maybe intentionally. Nobody dared to suggest to Azula about attending. 

“How are you doing?” Mai asked him, noticing his discomfort.

“I’d rather make more paper mache animals. I feel silly.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve checked the program and vetoed all songs about you.”

“They had songs about me?!”

Mai rolled her eyes. Zuko groaned and hid his face in his palm. 

At the end, the performance wasn’t too bad. The youngest girls, Izumi among them, were adorable with their songs about sun and dance where they ran in circles very enthusiastically. Then the older girls performed several musical pieces, with various degrees of mastery. There was a small firebending performance from the oldest students and a “gymnastics with weapons” routine. One girl read a long poem about dragons that was pretty good. 

“What is it? I don’t remember ever reading it. Is it new?” He asked Mai quietly.

“Actually, it’s very old. It was found recently though. Dating back 500 years.”

And the students finished the show with a scene from Love Among the Dragons. Zuko glanced to his mom, but she was looking at Noren and grinning. 

~o~  
After the performances Izumi ran to them and dragged them to show various corners of her school. Mai didn’t say anything, just followed her daughter with an amused smile. She, of course, knew all the corners of the school herself, and was willing to let Izumi to explore all anew. Zuko however, hadn’t seen any of it, and felt almost like he was trespassing in a strange world. 

Izumi babbled seriously about all the cool things she liked there pointing this and that. Zuko wondered what was it like during Azula’s time there and glanced at Mai. Apparently Mai also traveled back in time, because she looked withdrawn, back into her shell with the careful mask on her face. He took her hand, cold and shut in a fist, and kissed it. Mai closed her eyes, sighed, and when she opened it, her smile was back, crooked, but real.

Eventually Izumi brought them to a long gallery covered with students’ drawings. Most drawing were… well, kids’ drawing. Slightly better than whatever Sokka called “his art”. Several were in the range from pretty good to amazing. Izumi had no interest in them. She stopped in front of her own work and proudly announced:

“Look! I drew all my family!”

In the middle of the picture there was a large figure representing Izumi. In the grand style of the fire lords’ official portraits, Zuko noted slyly. Above her, a small red dragon flew smiling with the ring of fire surrounding him. That was Druk, naturally. On each side, there were he and Mai, slightly smaller than the central figure. Near them he could see Kiyi, and Tom-Tom, and both Izumi’s grandmothers, and Noren, and Iroh, and Azula with a tiny blue flame, and Auntie Mura. Then there were Ty Lee, Aang and Katara with Bumi and baby Kya, and Sokka, Suki, Toph, and Appa with Momo, then, as an afterthought, Ukano and Mai’s uncle, tucked in a corner. 

Zuko felt prickling in his eyes. A handkerchief appeared in Mai’s hand in front of him. “You have quite a big family.” He finally managed to say, slightly choking. “It’s a wonderful picture.” 

“We are a big family. There are a lot of people to love. But I love them, and they love me back.”

“Of course, Izumi.” Mai said very quietly. “We all love you very much.”

“Want to see my dragon?” Izumi pulled them towards the next display, and sure enough here they were all kinds of paper mache animals dancing under a huge golden sun, among them – a large red dragon with purple wings and yellow eyes, bright green mane, and tiny orange tufts of hair on its ears, and large blue flames made out of thin pieces of rice paper coming out of its mouth. “I called her Izzy!”

“It’s very impressive! Izzy is a marvelous dragon.” Mai said lifting up Izumi in her arms and kissing her cheek.

“I am definitely impressed. Is it the ones we made together?” Zuko grinned at them.

“Of course it is!”

“It looks so much more… dragonish. But why is its flame blue?”

“Aunt Azula said blue flame is better than red.”

“She would say it. But it just hotter, not necessarily better. Looks great on Izzy the dragon.” Zuko kept feeling that something was bothering him, a little splinter, a needle, something small and couldn’t figure out what. 

“Let’s go! We have a feast coming!” Izumi was ready to lead them away to other, more interesting stuff. 

“Go ahead, I wanted to look some more at all the art.”

Mai raised eyebrows but didn’t say anything and let Izumi lead her away. Zuko came back to Izumi’s family drawing. There it was – everyone she could think about. All the people in Izumi’s life. He thought about himself at her age – his drawing would have been much smaller. And then, with a start, he found the splinter that bothered him: his father was not in the picture. Never a part of Izumi’s life, even nominally, like Mai’s father. She knew about his existence, but didn’t think of him as her family. Zuko shrugged. It’s was just right. The splinter didn’t bother him any longer, and he harried after Mai and Izumi to the feast. 

On the way he looked again at the paper mache animals display. Beside their dragon, there were all kinds of animals – some of them he’d seen far away from home, some he wasn’t sure even existed, some were a common sight. All were arranged in circles, reminiscent of the dance the girls did, all happy and peaceful.

**Author's Note:**

> It started as a silly thought exercise based on a personal experience, then it turned into a bit of fluff, then the shadows and old trauma attacked...


End file.
